Woman files 'harass' FIR against BJD MP

CUTTACK

: Police here on Friday registered a case against BJD MP and popular actor Anubhav Mohanty for allegedly misbehaving with a woman who had sought his intervention in connection with an incident where his brother had reportedly passed lewd remarks at her.

In her complaint at Purighat police station, the 29-year-old married woman claimed she was subjected to verbal abuse and called a prostitute by Anubhav when she visited his residence at Nandi Sahi, near Choudhury Bazar, to complain against his brother, Anuprash.

"Acting on her complaint, a case has been registered under Sections 354-A (sexual harassment by way of sexually coloured remarks) and 294 (use of obscene words) against Anubhav Mohanty, his wife and younger brother Anuprash Mohanty," said Rashmiranjan Sahoo, inspector in-charge (IIC) of Purighat police station.

"Before proceeding on the FIR we will first ascertain the veracity of the allegations. Preliminary investigations have indicated that the actual occurrence is likely to have been recorded in a CCTV camera. We will soon examine the footage," Sahoo added.

When contacted over phone, Anubhav rubbished the allegations. "The allegations made by the woman is concocted and aimed to defame me and tarnish the image of my brother and my wife," Anubhav told TOI.

Narrating the sequence of events, Anubhav said the woman had turned up at their residence around midnight on Wednesday. "That was cause enough for concern. It brought us out of home. But her behaviour was strange and her words didn't seem to make any sense. Her allegations against my brother were equally vague," said Anubhav, who defeated Baijayant Panda (BJP) in the

Lok Sabha

election.

"In fact, to ensure her safe return home, we even called a police control room (PCR) van to take her away. But it was shocking to hear that she has lodged a complaint against us with the police," the 37-year-old added.